A man who was dropped off at the VA Medical Center following a fatal shooting was wounded in Trotwood. Homicide detectives confirmed that three men were booked into the Montgomery County Jail on Friday in connection to the slaying. One of those men, Dshawn Lynch, has been charged with murder in connection to the killing.
Meanwhile, the brothers of shooting victim Thomas L. Johnson, 48, of Germantown, spoke to us Sunday about their brother. Key facts in the story so far:
- A man shot to death was left at VA Medical Center
- He was dropped off at the doors by private vehicle
- Victim was shot at Trotwood Speedway
- Surveillance cameras recorded man hurriedly leaving
- Police ID'd him as a person of interest in the case
- Man in video was arrested; car found in Moraine
- 2 other men arrested in the case, police said
- Dyshawn Lynch has been charged with murder
UPDATE @ 10:49 a.m. (May 2):
Dshawn Lynch, 20, was indicted on two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, weapons under disability, intimidation of a crime witness and trafficking of counterfeit controlled substances.
Lynch is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1 million bond.
UPDATE @ 10:01 a.m. (April 26):
Murder charges have been approved in the shooting death of Thomas Johnson, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Dshawn Lynch, 20, has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, weapons under disability and trafficking of counterfeit controlled substances, the prosecutor’s office said.
UPDATE @ 4:07 p.m. (April 18):
Thomas Johnson died from a gunshot wound to the right arm/chest area, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
The coroner’s office said Johnson was wounded at 2001 Shiloh Springs Road in Trotwood, which is the location of a Speedway gas station.
Johnson was dropped off at the VA Medical Center on West Third Street in Dayton and was pronounced dead from his injuries.
Johnson’s death has been ruled a homicide.
Prosecutors have not approved any official charges in connection to the fatal shooting, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
UPDATE @ 11:05 p.m. (April 17):
Thomas Johnson, known as “Tom” to friends and family, was a 48-year-old veteran who will be “missed by everyone,” said his brother, Timothy Johnson.
His brothers say he was happy, relaxed, and looking forward to a new phase of his life.
He was “supposed to get married in June and move up to Michigan, retire, have fun, live the dream,” said his youngest brother, Julius Shawn Johnson. “Now they took it away from him.”
Their brother was dropped off near the doors of the VA Medical Center’s ER on Friday morning. Surveillance cameras recorded a four-door car pulling up, and they spotted a man rushing away. Later on Friday, police arrested 33-year-old Joshua Wilson along with DShawn Lynch, 20, and Randle Lavert Jr., 23. At this point, police are only calling the trio persons of interest. All but Lavert remain in jail.
“To be honest, I think that somebody who was involved knew my brother Tom’s history,” Timothy Johnson said, referring to his brother’s connection to the VA. As a veteran, he has been treated there for heart problems.
But they won’t speculate on a motive. “That’s the big one. Why?” Timothy Johnson said, which is just one of a long list of questions.
“I’m not leaving until I get my answers,” Julius Johnson said.
Both brothers are hopeful some of their questions will be answered Monday.
UPDATE @ 10:55 p.m. (April 15): Meantime, the Montgomery County Coroner's Office has identified the dead man as Thomas Johnson, 48, of Germantown. The body was reported to the coroner's office at 6:35 a.m. from the VA Medical Center, an investigator said. An autopsy is pending.
The three men in custody were arrested Friday afternoon and evening. They are:
* Joshua Wilson, 33, on charges of felony drug possession and misdemeanor probation violation for unauthorized use of plates
* Dshawn Lynch, 20, detained pending the filing of formal charges
* Randle Lavert Jr., 23, detained pending the filing of formal charges.
Wilson most resembles a man recorded on surveillance video from the medical center. Dayton police had been seeking the person in the video all day as a person of interest in the investigation.
Wilson was arrested not long after police in Moraine recovered the vehicle they think was used in the dumping of the body at the VA Medical Center.
We’re told that one of the men is likely to be charged with murder sometime Monday.
Officers were dispatched to the hospital, 4100 W. Third St., about 6:45 a.m. on a report of a person deceased from a gunshot wound, according to dispatch records.
Police said the victim was brought to the emergency room by a private vehicle near the ambulance bay off Liscum Drive. The victim, police said, had been brought to the medical center in a mid-sized four-door car.
“Our ER staff just notified us that he’d been dropped off at the doors and then whoever it was boogied,” a VA police official said in a 911 call.
Police had been looking for the man seen on the surveillance video and officers said he is the same person who dropped the victim off at the hospital. That man, believed to be Joshua Wilson, 33, was arrested about 4 p.m.
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